Chain of the month: IHG

The InterContinental Phoenicia Beirut was IHG's first MENA property. In September the hotel celebrated its 50th birthday with a weekend of food, fun a

Success amid setbacks
IHG, like most chains, knows all too well the importance of attracting guests in the aftermath of social and political unrest, and natural disasters.

To name but a few in the last decade: IHG hotels, colleagues and guests were among those affected by the tragic Asian tsunami in 2004. The company went into fundraising mode with in-kind donations and corporate matching raising up to US $1 million.

The following July, London’s Holiday Inn Bloomsburg became an impromptu centre for victims of the London Tube bombings, a further $2.2 million was raised by guests and customers for the cause.

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That same year, Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza properties in the US provided refuge for some of the many people left homeless following Hurricane Katrina.

Then in 2008, the hotel group saw revenues slump worldwide at the wake of the global financial crisis.

Just as the region started to see some economic relief, political and social uprising across the Middle East and North Africa, particularly in Bahrain and Egypt, from March of this year significantly lowered performance in the regional market.

The unrest, later coined as the ‘Arab Spring’, was said to have led to a $1 million decline - to $31 million - in managed operating profit during half one of 2011.

From an operational standpoint, however, Gauvin says IHG was prepared for the Arab Spring, as it is for any future crisis thrown its way. A sophisticated crisis management system kicked in at the start of the unrest, prioritising the safety and security of guests, colleagues and the assets.

Gauvin took the lead from his UAE base, making daily conference calls with the properties in the heart of the turbulence, evaluating options, making decisions and moving forward.

“The general managers and their colleagues are fully trained on all procedures and drills. When there is a crisis many guests wish to leave, so we take them to the airport, help them with their tickets. If it is unsafe for staff to come to work, we let them stay at home, if it’s unsafe for them to go home, we keep them at the hotel.”

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